Archean molecular fossils and the early rise of eukaryotes

Jochen J. Brocks*, Graham A. Logan, Roger Buick, Roger E. Summons

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

988 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Molecular fossils of biological lipids are preserved in 2700-million- year-old shales from the Pilbara Craton, Australia. Sequential extraction of adjacent samples shows that these hydrocarbon biomarkers are indigenous and syngenetic to the Archean shales, greatly extending the known geological range of such molecules. The presence of abundant 2α-methylhopanes, which are characteristic of cyanobacteria, indicates that oxygenic photosynthesis evolved well before the atmosphere became oxidizing. The presence of steranes, particularly cholestane and its 28- to 30-carbon analogs, provides persuasive evidence for the existence of eukaryotes 500 million to 1 billion years before the extant fossil record indicates that the lineage arose.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1033-1036
Number of pages4
JournalScience
Volume285
Issue number5430
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 13 Aug 1999
Externally publishedYes

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